


Cyberspace A.Z.

by StrangerZ



Category: Z Nation (TV)
Genre: Annoying CZ for Fun, F/F, F/M, Gen, Hacking Camp Northern Light, M/M, Multi, Other, Silly nonsense, This was just a gift to myself for doing online college assignments tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:46:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23687884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrangerZ/pseuds/StrangerZ
Summary: A group of survivors secured power and internet access and used it to annoy Citizen Z, and to hack Northern Light Listening Post.
Kudos: 3





	Cyberspace A.Z.

Citizen Z closed tab after tab, as an annoying song blared from his speakers. 

"Which-tab-was-it?" he complained, fingers flying across the keyboard.

Finally all the tabs were all closed, and the music continued. It was candy coated hyperpop that grated on his ears. He needed it to stop but he couldn't concentrate. It was like fingernails digging into his brain.

That was probably why he didn't realize what was happening. It took him far too long to realize this wasn't something he did. It was coming from outside.

Someone was fucking with him.

Someone was alive to fuck with him.

"Oh, you're going to wish you- hadn't- fuck this noise, why won't it turn _off_?!"

He leaned forward, brows furrowed as he worked, the noise cutting through his brain.

Pup was whining, ears flattened against his skull.

"I know pup, I'm working on it buddy."

And he was making progress. It was slower than he liked, but it looked like he was dealing with amateurs. If it wasn't for the noise - sound warfare, he realized - he would have been able to deal with the problem much faster. As it was, the pests got way too far into the system before he began making any progress locking them out. They were playing with the master at this game, though. The sound stopped abruptly, and he cried out 'Hah!' That wasn't the end of it, no. In the silence, he traced the hackers back to their base, and soon the shoe was on the other foot.

They had a webcam. He laughed, and in moments he could see who he was dealing with.

It was a bunch of kids. Barely old enough to drive. They were leaning on one another, it looked like they were encouraging the one in the chair. Did they have a microphone hooked up? Hah. They did. In moments, he had audio. 

"Fun's over, theydies and gentlethems," the one at the keyboard said, leaning back and raising their hands in defeat. "We're locked out."

"Booo. Let me at it," A wiry looking youth practically hung over their shoulder and tapped at the computer and renewed the assault. Nothing. Their eyebrows furrowed, and then they swore. 

"I told you, they locked us out of Northern Lig-"

"They locked us out of OUR NETWORK, Leaf."

Simon didn't think about it.

His face appeared on their screen in a chat window. 

"Good work, kids. I'm impressed, but seriously- don't hack into my system again."

"It'sCitizenZ-CitizenZistalkingtous!" Leaf babbled in excitement, voice rising exponentially with every syllable.

The kid behind them clapped a hand over their mouth, and flashed a smile at the screen. "Hello Citizen Z. Leaf is a big fan."

The other kids laughed at that understatement, and then they all started talking at once. Leaf had gotten free from their buddy, and could be barely be heard over the rabble. 

"One at a time!" Simon had to shout to be heard over them. 

"C-Z- we're part of a survivor group led by, uh, Granny," Leaf told him, then turned to the others. Simon just barely overheard their whispered question to the others "What's Granny's name? Really, no one knows?" Simon snorted at that. "Never mind that. She doesn't do computers so, she leaves that to us. Cause, you know. She's old. Uh. We were looking for info on her son."

"Cause the government you're working made him fucking _disappear_ ," another kid cut them off.

"He's probably dead-" 

"Shut up Andy!" 

"You shut up, Casey-"

"ALL of you shut up!" It was the second kid again. The closest thing to a voice of reason, Simon thought. The others listened to them, except for all the times when they didn't.

"Thanks, Sadie," Leaf said, looking embarrassed. "Citizen Z, our friend found out about the outbreak before it happened, only it made some very important people look bad and they made him disappear. We need to find out what happened to him. His warnings the only reason any of us survived this long. That's all we were looking for, promise!"

Simon looked at the kids, squabbling yet again. 

This was interesting. 

"What was his name?"

"His name IS Steven Beck."

The name made Citizen Z flinch.

It was one of the 'packages' en route to California, only in his last contact with Hammond he'd lost the guy somewhere near New York. When he'd gotten ahold of them again, Hammond was dead, Beck was missing, and Murphy was with another group of survivors heading west. He wasn't sure how much he could say. How much he should say. It was a secret, but he couldn't hide his expression.

"You knew about it?" Leaf looked devastated. Betrayed.

"Not- not that. He was involved in a- last ditch effort to save humanity, but I lost contact with them recently. When he contacts me again, I'll let him know you're hanging on, alright?"

He was not prepared for the onslaught of sound that exploded over the speakers at his news.

One of the kids in the back, that had been quiet til now drowned out the rest with the sheer volume of her voice.

"STEVIE'S ALIVE I FUCKIN SAID HE'S STEVIE FUCKIN BECK HE'LL PUNCH THE Zs IN THEIR UGLY FACES!" 

Pup started barking at all the yelling, and then the noise levels only got worse because the kids started yelling excitedly about dogs.

The kids all went quiet, and turned towards something off screen.

"Sorry Granny! We'll be quiet." They practically chorused in a very practiced apology. Then the extremely loud child added, "Stevie's okay, Granny! Citizen Z said he's okay and he's coming home soon!"

An older woman came into view. She wasn't as old looking as he'd expected for a woman that had a son in his thirties. She must've been young when she had him. She was wearing a flannel, jeans, and heavy looking boots. She was very heavily armed, and wore her silvering blonde hair in a braid over her shoulder. 

"You must be Citizen Z. You may call me Granny. What's this about Stevie?" 

"Uh. Ma'am. He has been involved in a - he's been vaccinated against the ZN1 virus. He's as safe as anyone can be out there." He shouldn't be saying this, he really shouldn't be saying this, but she looked so much like Beck. As weird as this was, he didn't think this was some stunt someone was pulling to get him to reveal Operation Bitemark. They'd have done a much better job of it if it was intentional. The monumental cock-up they'd made of it was too convincing. "We're getting him to a doctor who can make more of the vaccine."

"Why don't you get him somewhere safe, and move the doctors to him? He's more important," the woman demanded, and Citizen Z hesitated. It wasn't a terrible idea, but-

"We had our orders, and now- I don't think anywhere's safer than they are on the move."

"It's safer here, young man. Send him home. Send your doctors here. We'll keep the area secure."

"Uh-" Citizen Z didn't want to argue with 'Granny,' but he had to- "I don't think the doctors are up to that, Ma'am, and there aren't many left. They're not going to agree to that."

They stared at each other for several moments before Granny nodded. He released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. This was the longest human interaction he'd had since the outbreak. 

"I'll see what I can do," he added, "Maybe they'll be able to stop there on the way. They'll need a safe place to rest. I'll let them know you're there, waiting."

The woman's face cleared. "That'll do. Thank you, Citizen Z. Look out for my son."

"I will, Ma'am. I'll keep in touch- so long as you keep this set up going- and let you know when he's coming your way. And, Ma'am? Make sure these kids stop hacking into my systems. They might set off something dangerous. Weapons systems. It's not a game." The woman turned to the kids with a severe expression, and Simon smiled as he closed the chat window.

He didn't think he was going to be bothered with hyperpop earworms again any time soon.

**Author's Note:**

> I actually love hyperpop, but I don't think C.Z. feels the same.


End file.
